State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Boosts Stock Position in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 10.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,976 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 6,723 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $11,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 26.1% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 57,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,222,000 after acquiring an additional 11,954 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc grew its position in Ares Management by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 107,159 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $17,512,000 after purchasing an additional 2,528 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,660 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in Ares Management by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 18,787 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,004,000 after purchasing an additional 4,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in Ares Management by 21.9% in the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 66,900 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,697,000 after buying an additional 12,000 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $126.61 per share, for a total transaction of $1,266,100.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 34,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,729.31. This trade represents a 41.54% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 56,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.26, for a total value of $8,846,975.82. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 590,000 shares of company stock valued at $90,653,808 over the last 90 days. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ares Management Price Performance

NYSE ARES opened at $133.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.28, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.52. Ares Management Corporation has a 1-year low of $110.63 and a 1-year high of $195.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $159.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.97.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 19.26%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 265.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARES has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group cut their target price on Ares Management from $201.00 to $198.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Raymond James Financial raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $157.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Ares Management from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Ares Management from $224.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.13.

About Ares Management

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a global alternative asset manager that provides investment solutions across credit, private equity and real estate. The firm originates and manages capital across a range of strategies including direct lending, syndicated and special situations credit, private equity buyouts and growth investments, and real estate equity and debt. Ares serves institutional investors, insurance companies, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and high‑net‑worth clients through both commingled funds and bespoke managed account structures.

Within credit, Ares offers strategies spanning leveraged loans, structured credit, opportunistic and distressed debt, and specialty finance, with an emphasis on underwriting, portfolio construction and active asset management.